Page 105 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
“No, that can’t be right.” Roland sounded perplexed. “He promised ...” He broke off.
“Who promised what, Roland?” Clive asked, taking a step towards him.
“That we wouldn’t be touched. They only wanted the ringleaders. He promised. That officer. Gentleman to gentleman.”
“That Nazi is no gentleman, Roland,” Ellie said. She glared at him, her face set in stone. “You told the Germans about our little operation here? You betrayed us? Why? We’ve taken you in and made you welcome. How could you do this?”
“I don’t like Jews,” he said simply. “I never have. They don’t belong in my country. And I thought if I told them, they might let me come back to my house ... maybe live in one portion of it and have my servants back again.”
“They shot Nico and the abbot from the island,” Ellie said, fighting back the desire to strike him. “You had two wonderful men killed.”
“I didn’t mean to.” He sounded like a little boy. “I just thought it would stop the Jews coming here, and I didn’t realize it was your lover, Nico, who was involved.”
“I want you out of here,” Ellie said. “Pack up your things and go.”
“Go where?”
Ellie shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m sure they’ll find you a room at the pension with your pals the German soldiers.”
“But you can’t mean it. We’ve been friends ...”
“I thought we were friends,” Ellie said. “But friends don’t betray each other. Now go.”
“Very well,” he said, now giving her an arrogant stare. “I’ll go back to Paris to my family. I have plenty of places to stay there if my own house has no servants at the moment. I will be just fine.”
Ellie did not reply. She turned her back on him and did not see him go.
Chapter 43
As Ellie stood alone on the back terrace, the pain overwhelmed her. No Nico, no Abbot Gerard. Two men she had truly loved and respected. She tried to picture life without them and saw only a dark tunnel with no light at the end. She had been brave and defiant for Clive, but now she wondered if her words really meant anything. Did she want to go on? Completely alone, unloved? But the one feeling that still drove her was her anger, her desire for revenge. She was not going to give that Nazi monster the satisfaction of knowing he had killed her, too.
As soon as Ellie had processed her loss, she thought of Nico’s mother. She would have to give her the news. And she remembered that she had promised Nico to take care of the old lady. She went down to the village and was heading for Nico’s house when she remembered Mavis. Mavis was still here, a true friend, a kind woman. Ellie hesitated. Did she want to take her grief to someone who was happy, settled, loved? Then she thought tomorrow it could be Louis who was taken. None of them was safe. So she kept walking until she came to the house behind the toolshed. There was no sign of Louis working as she walked past, for which she was grateful. She had no wish for polite conversation today.
Mavis was out in the back garden, hanging up washing.
“At last a fine day,” she called when she saw Ellie. “I thought these bloody sheets would never dry.” Then she saw Ellie’s face. “What’s happened, love? Bad news?”
Ellie nodded, unable to speak. Then when she spoke the words came out in a torrent: “Took Tommy, killed Nico, killed the abbot ...” She fought back great sobs as Mavis took her into her arms.
“Killed them? Why?”
“Because they were helping Jewish men to escape from France,” Ellie said. “They knew they were risking their lives, and they still did it ... for strangers, Mavis.”
“And I always thought that Nico was a crook,” Mavis said. “You know, black market smuggling. That kind of thing. And all the time he was doing this?”
Ellie nodded. “He always did like to live dangerously, but—” She couldn’t finish.
“Oh my love, I’m so sorry,” Mavis said. “The bastards. The absolute monsters. If only we could give them what’s coming to them.” She paused. “What you need is a good cup of tea. I can’t give you that, on account of no proper tea any more, but I can make you a cup of chamomile. Supposed to be restorative.”
Ellie shook her head. “I don’t want anything. I was actually on my way to Nico’s mother. She doesn’t know yet. And I promised him I’d take his mother in if anything happened to him.”
Mavis regarded her. “You were very fond of him, weren’t you?”
“More than fond. We loved each other,” Ellie said. “How strange it is to say that, but it’s true. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize that I loved him. I suppose I was scared of getting hurt again. And now he’s gone, Mavis. I won’t ever see him again.”
She turned away. “First Jojo, then Dora and now this. It’s too much, Mavis. I can’t take any more. Why did I ever come to this horrible place? I could have stayed in England and done the sensible thing, acted as I’d always acted all my life: sane, sensible, reasonable. I’d have made jam and knitted socks for the Women’s Institute. Accepted my fate as a rejected woman ... and not had to feel ...”
Mavis put her hands on Ellie’s shoulders. “Would you, really? Never have played with Jojo and listened to her laugh? Never have learned tolove Dora or Nico? Never have looked out at your view? At least you experienced those once, didn’t you? At least you were loved by a good man. How many people can say that?”
